Repeating machanism for phonographs



L. S. WOODHULL, L. M. PRENTICE, AND J. H. RICE.

REPEATING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

, APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 1919.

1,430,780. Patented Oct 3,1922.

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Patented Oct. 3, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WOODHULL, L. M. PRENTICE, AND J. H. RICE.

REPEAT-1N6 MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10. 1919.

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mam/7w 5X WiV/W L S. WOODHULL, L. M. PRENTICE, AND J. H. RICE.

REPEATING MECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS. APPLICATION FILED OCT- 10,-1919.

1,430,789, Patented 0@ t.3,1922.

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LLEWELLYN S. WOODHULL, LLOYD Til. PBLNTICE, AND JOHN H. RICE, 0FDETROIT, MICHIGAN; SAID WOODHULL ASSIGNOR- T0 SAID PRENTICE AND RICE,BOTH 0F MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

REPEATING IVIECHANISM FOR PHONOGRAPHS.

Application filed October 10, 1919. Serial No. 329,742.

To all to loom it may concern Be it known that we, LLrm nLLYN S. VVooD-HULL, Lrorn M. PRENTICE, and JOHN H. RICE, citizens of the UnitedStates, residing at Detroit. in the county of Wayne and StateofMichigan, have invented a new and useful Repeating Mechanism forPhonographs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to phonographs and particularly to means forcontrolling action of the tone arm of such instruments.

The invention has for its principal object the provision of means forintermittent operation by the driving motor of a phonograph, wherebythe. tone arm of the instrument may be caused to automatically returnand repeat the rendering of a record;

Another object of the invention is to provide in such a device manuallyadjustable means to limit within predetermined points the effectiveengagement of the tone arm upon the record so as to cause said arm totraverse such selected portion of the record and repeat the renditionthereof.

A further object is to provide means for controlling the return movementof the tone arm whereby upon completion of the rendering of a record thetone arm may be returned so as to clear the record and position theneedle upon a brake actuating pad to automatically stop the motor of theinstrument.

In attaining the above objecm the invention contemplates the employmentof a vertically reciprocatory inclined run-way arranged for intermittentdriving engagement with the motor and adapted to engage and impart araising and return movement to the tone arm, together with adjustablecontrolling stops and trips for limiting the swinging movement of thetone arm and for effecting establishment of the driving connections forraising and returning said arm to its initial or normal positions.

A preferred structural embodiment of the features of this invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

arm being shown in full lines in position to initiate a return movementand indicating by dashed lines the arm at rest upon the brake pad in theidle position.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view through the turn table and motorboard showing the brake and its actuating pad in elevation.

Fig. at is an enlarged detail in elevation of the vertically movableinclined run-way and mechanism for imparting movement thereto.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged plan of the repeating mechanism, as shown in Fig.1, with the tone arm and motor of the instrument omitted.

Referring now to the parts in the drawings by the characters ofreference leading thereto, 1 represents the top or motor board of aphonograph and 2 a common type of motor connected in the usual way fordrivingengagement with the turn table 3 through a gear 4, and from whichthe repeating mechanism of this invention is also driven. The tone armindicated at 5 is universally pivotally mounted in a boss 5' on themotor board and carries a sound box 6 and needle 7 adapted to travel inthe usual way upon a record 8 mounted on the turn-table 3.

' Secured to and depending from the under side of the motor hoardintermediate the motor and pivotal axis of the tone arm is a rectangularframe 9 having spaced vertically parallel guide posts 10 at oppositeends thereof, and extending between these guide posts is an inclinedvertically reciprocatory run-way 11 having sleeves 12 at opposite endsthereof, which freely embrace said posts respectively and serve to guidesaid run-way in the vertical movement. ment is imparted to the run-way11 by a cam 13 engageable with an anti-friction roller 14 j ournalled ina bearing bracket 15 depending centrally from the under side of saidrun-way, said cam being keyed to a shaft 16 which is journalled inbearings 17 at opposite ends of the frame 9. Movement is imparted tointermittently rotate the shaft 16 by a mutilated gear 18 keyed thereonin position to mesh with the driving gear 4 of Movethe motor, and alsofixed on this shaft at one end thereof is a disk 19 carrying upon itsouter face an eccentrically mounted weight 20 and having formed in itsinner face diametrically opposite said weight a tooth or notch 21engageable with the toothed end of a pawl 22 pivotally mounted near itsupper end on a bracket 23 of the frame 9. By this means the pawl actingcounter to the rotative tendency of the weight upon the shaft normallyretains the mutilated gear out of mesh with the driving gear 4 with the.cam also in the idle position as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and. 5.

To provide means for releasing the pawl from the disk by movement of thetone arm 5 so as to allow the weight 20 by gravity to initiate movementof the shaft 16 and establish the. gear 18 in driving engagement withthe gear 4 to cause a rotation of said shaft and movement of the cam toraise the runway 11, and by which a return movement of the tone arm iseffected, the following mechanism is employed:

Pivotally mounted between the terminals 22 of the bifurcated upper endof the pawl 22. upon a pin 24 extended therethrough, is a bell crank 25,one arm of which extends horizontally and is loosely received at itsfree end 25 within a transverse aperture 26 formed through the lower endof a vertical plunger 27 which extends through the motor board 1 and isprovided at its upper end with a push button 28 by which the plunger maybe depressed to actuate the bellcrank. A coiled spring 29 interposedbetween the button 28 and a counter-bored seat 30 in the motor boardyieldably retains said plunger normally retracted and exerts an upwardlifting force upon the arm 25 of the bell crank. The other arm of saidhell crank is extended by a comparatively thin plate 31 having atransverse aperture therethrough which freely receives one end of a.horizontal push rod 32 and normally acts to bind upon and grip said rodwhen tilted thereon under the influence of the spring pressed. plunger27, whereby an operative engagement is established for releasing thepawl 22 through movement of the push rod in one direction. This push rodis slida-bly mounted in brackets at opposite ends of the frame 9, and isembraced by coiled spring 34, which, abuts at one end against a fixedbracket 33 andv at its opposite end against a collar 35 having adisk-like flange 36 through which a screw threaded stud 37? extendedinto binding engagement with said rod. Said spring ating through thecollar tends to move the rod 32 to the left (with reference to Fig. 4)and this tendency is normally resisted by the bell-crank 25.

A trip-lever 38, pivotally mounted intermediate its ends as at 39 to across member 40 of the frame, extends at one end across the face of thedisk 36 to prevent rotation of the rod 32 and is provided with a slot 41which receives the stud 37 and forms a sliding pivotal connectionthrough which motion of the lever is imparted to move the rodlongitudinally. (See Fig. 6.) The free end of the lever 38 is extendedacross the arcuate path of travel of' the tone arm 5, and is adapted tobe engaged and shifted by the upright portion of a right angled shiftarm 42 which is secured at its upper end to the tone arm eccentric tothe axis thereof, and extending through an opening 43 in. the motorboard is provided at its lower horizontal end with an anti-frictionroller 44 disposed in vertical alinement above the inclined run-way 11,by which it is adapted to be engaged and raised with the upward movementthereof, and upon which it travels downwardly by gravity, the directionof inclination of the run-way relative to that of travel of the tone armbeing such as to impart a reverse movement to said. arm after raisingthe same upon reaching the limit of its initial travel throughengagement with the trip-lever 38. To provide adjustable means forlimiting the reverse movement of the tone arm so as to properly positionthe needle upon the record when repeating a rendition thereof,

and also to make provision for so positioning and supporting the tonearm as to antomatically effect the stopping of the mechanism. uponcompletion of the rendition of a record, the following mechanism isemployed:

A stop arm 45, looped at one end and pivotallv embracing a flangedsleeve 45 mounted in the under face of the motor board concentric withthe axis of the tone. arm, 1s extended radially therefrom across.

the opening 43 in said board and across the path of travel of the shiftarm 42 with which it is adapated to engage and limit the return movementof the tone arm. (See Figs. 1, 2 and. 6.) Pivotally connected at one endto the free end of the stop arm 45 is an adjusting rod 46, and pivotallymounted in a bracket 47 secured to the under face of the motor board isa,bell crank 48, one extension of which is formed of a comparativelythin plate 49 transversely apertured to receive the rod'46 upon which itis adapted to bind when tilted angularly thereon under the influence ofa spring 50 stressed to act upon the bell crank eccentrically to itspivotal axis. The opposite extension of said bell crank is engaged by abutton headed plunger 51 extended vertically through the motor board andadapted when depressed to tilt the bell. crank against the tension ofthe spring, 50 and release the plate 45 from bind, ing engagement withthe rod 46, which, under influence of a coiled spring 52 compressedbetween said plateand a collar 53 on said rod will be caused to-slidelongitudinally in a direction to move the stop arm 45 toward'the shiftrm 42 where it will be held fixed in adjusted position upon reof theplunger 51. Mounted to move vertically through the motor board adjacentthe-turn table 1 and in "the of travel of the needle in the outwardreturn movement of the tone re: (see Fig. is a plunger '53 having a paed dislr head :34; adapted to be engaged by the needle and tubedepressed by the weight of the tone arm when at rest. livotallyconnected at one end to the lower end of this plunger is a-lever 55which is fulcrumed interme diate its ends to a'bracket 56 on the motorboard and pivotally connected at its opposite end to a verticallymovable plunger 57 extended through the motor board andcai ryinga'bralre pad 58 positioned to normally clear the under face of the turntable 3, but adapted to engage and brake the same through movement ofthe lever 55 by the plunger when depressed the tone arm thereon.

l laving described the structural arrangement of parts, the operation ofthe mechanism will now be understoodas follows:

With the tone arm at rest in the position indicated by dotted lines inFig. 1, a record is placed upon the turn table and thelattcr is set inmotion by the motor upon release of the brake plunger 57 through theraising of the tone arm from the plunger '53; j The tone arm is thenswung inwardly to position the needle in line with the end of therecord, the button 28 is depressed to release the rod 32,

' which, by the action of the spring 3 h will be moved in a direction toswing the free end of the trip lever 38 against the shift arm and uponrelease of said button said lever will be held in its set position, whenthe tone arm may then be moved to the outer marginal edge of the recordand the needle placed thereon to operate in the usual way.

Upon arrival of the needle at the end of the record in its travel acrosstoe face thereof, the shift arm 42 will be caused to engage and impartto the lever movement to shift the rod 32 slightly in the direction ofthe button 28. The bell cranl: 25 participates bodily in this movement,being restrained from rocking by the binding engaginnent of the plateill with said rod 32, which engagement is maintained by the spring 29.Through the bodily movement of the bell crank, the upper end of the pawl22, on which said bell crank is pivoted, is moved crwrespondingly withthe rod 32 and. said pawl is thus swung out of engagement with the dislr19., allowing the weight 20 to turn the shaft 16 suiiiciently toestablish the gear in in engagement with the driving gear l of themotor. Upon rotation of the shaft the by the weight of cam 13 actingupon the roller imparts a verth-ally eciprocating movement to therim-way ll, andas said run-way approac ies the limit of its upwardtravel it engages'the roller lei of the shift arm 4:2, raising said armtogether with the tone arm and needle. soon as the needle is raisedclear of the recordythe weight of the tone arm being transferred to theroller-44, said roller is caused to travel by gravity clown the inclinedface of said run-waytherebyswing ingthe tone arm while elevatedoutwardly across therecord to its initial position where it will beretarded by engagement of the arm dQwith the stop armed), and thenloweredinto position with the needle resting upon the brsiilte-actuatingpad 54: and applying the brake 58 to the turn table simultaneously withthe lowering of the run-way l the cam in completing its rotation, atwhich time the pawl 22 will have engaged the disk 19 and the gear 18will be held with its mutilated portion adjacent the driving gear inpositionifor re-engagement; v "To set the device so as tocause the tonearm to repeat a rendition, said arm is first positionedabove the recordto present the nee dle at, such point as may be desired to commence therendering thereof, the button 51 is then depressed, releasing the bellcrank grip 49 from engagement with thefrjod 46, which latter under theinfluence of the spring 52 is moveddongitudinally in a direction toswing the stop arm 45 against the shift arm42, when by releasing thebutton 5]; said rod andstop willbe'held'in ad justed position and thetone arm is then lowered to engage the needle with the record foroperation. end of the record the shift arm 42, engaging the trip lever38, will set in motion the mechanism for raising and returning the tonearm, as before described, and as said tone arm reaches the limit of itsreturn movement through engagement of the arm, l2 with the stop arm 45,the needle will be gently lowered upon the record to its initialposition by the gradual action of the cam in lowering the runeway, and arepetition ofthe rendering of the record will follow.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that by adjusting the lever 42and stop arm 45 out of the path oftravel of the shift arm 42, the tonearm will be free to operate in the ordinary manner and may be manuallyshifted to and from the record and brake actuating pad to simultaneouslyefiect the starting and stopping of the instrument thereby. It will alsobe understood that by adjusting the trip lever and stop arm relativelyand to the shift arm upon pre-positioning the tone arm with the needleat the beginning and ending of any selected portion of the record, suchportion may be rendered and repeated, or the tone arm may be Upon theneedle reaching the caused, upon completing the rendering of suchportion, to engage the brake actuating pad and automatically stop theinstrument.

What We claim. is:

1. In a device of the character described, in combination with thedriving motor of a phonograph means comprising an intermittently;operated mechanism actuated by said driving motor, a verticallyreciprocatory run-Way adapted to be raised and. lowered by saidintermittently operated mechanism, a member carried by the tone arm ofthe instrument adaptedto engage and travel upon said run-way to raiseand reversethe travel of said tone arm to lower it to the initialposition, controlling means releasable by engagement with said member toinitiate movement of said intermittently driven mechanism, and means tolimit the return movement of said tone arm relative to a record.

2. In a device of the character described, in combination with thedriving gear of a phonograph, a shaft carrying a mutilated gear forintermittent operation by said driving gear, acam on said shaft, aVertically reciprocatory run-way actuated by said cam, a shift arm,carried by the tone, arm of the instrument adapted to be. engaged by andto travel upon saidrun-way toraise, return and lower said tonearm,aweighted dislrexerting rotative tendency onsaidshaft, a pawlrestrainingr said shaft counter to said weighted disk, andtripping meansactuableby said shift arm to release said pawl and initiate.

movementof. saidshaft to establish said mu,-

tilatedgear in driving engagementwith said driving gear.

3 In; a device of the character described, the combination with thetone-arm of a phonograph, of a support attached to said tone-arm, aninclined run-way arranged beneathsaid support and verticallyreciprocatory to engage the same and raise the tonearm from the record,the inclination of the run-way being such as to induce travel of thetone-arm upon said run-way toits initial position, and means forautomatically raising and lowering said run-way in predeterminedpositionsof the tone-arm.

4;. In a device of the character described, the combination with thetone-arm of a phonograph, of a support attached to said tone-arm, aninclinedv run-way arranged beneath said support and verticallyreciprocatory to engage the same and raise the tonearm from the record,the inclination of the run-way being such, as to induce travel of thetone-arm upon said run-way to its initial position, mechanism forvertically reciprocating said run-way, actuating means for saidmechanism, a releasable drive connection between said actuating meansand actuating mechanism, and means ,for automatically establishing saiddrive connection in a, predetermined position of the tone-arm.

In testimony whereof we sign this specification.

LLEWELLYN S VVOODHULL. LLOYD M. PRENTIOE. JOHN H. RICE.

